David McKeown/staff photos
Kathryn Ross, left, and Carrie Snyder, representatives of CK Running LLC, Philadelphia, look over the race route Monday for the Yuengling Light Lager Jogger 5K to be held April 13.

The first Yuengling Light Lager Jogger 5K, slated for April 13, is expected to attract a crowd like the throng that descends on the city for the annual Great Pottsville Cruise, Jerry Enders, cruise chairman, said Monday.

"There will be 2,500 runners. They may have friends or family with them. Plus, there will be spectators. You're talking maybe 5,000 to 6,000 people total. It could be as big as the cruise," said Enders, past president of the Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau.

This will pose a bit of a challenge for city police and volunteer fire police in terms of traffic control, police Capt. Steve Durkin said Monday.

So, on Monday, Durkin met with representatives of CK Running LLC, Philadelphia, the firm organizing the race. They were Carrie Snyder, race director, and Kathryn Ross, marketing director. Both are partners in the business.

"We'll be using wooden horses and people. We'll have city police. We have 23 full-time police in the city. There will be a lot of them on duty but I'm not sure how many at this point. I'm going to see how many I can get. We'll be working with Pottsville fire police and they'll be recruiting volunteers from neighboring communities to come and assist. The fire police in the county are really good at working together," Durkin said.

Registration is closed for the event, according to the race website.

"We have officially sold out at 2,500 runners," according to the site.

"It sold out on Jan. 15," Snyder said.

On April 12, vendors will set up their stands in the area of the brewery at Mahantongo and Fifth streets. Meanwhile, city police and city streets department will drop off wooden horses on sidewalks along the race route.

On April 13, police and fire police will block Mahantongo Street from Fourth Street to Seventh Street from 6 a.m. to noon, Durkin said.

The starting line is at Mahantongo and Seventh streets but runners will be lined up back to the Yuengling brewery at Mahantongo and Fifth.

The race will start at 8 a.m., according to the official website for the event, www.lagerjogger.com.

Traditionally, St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, 316 Mahantongo St., has Mass at 8 a.m. Saturdays. Even though thousands of people will be in the area and traffic access will be limited, Mass will be held on race day, Ruth Spece, church secretary, said Monday.

Richard L. Yuengling Jr., president of D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc., will start the race, with something like an air horn or a starter pistol, Snyder said.

A city police officer on motorcycle will lead the race. If it rains, a police cruiser will lead, Durkin said.

Runners will go in "waves," Snyder said.

"People will be lined up according to their anticipated pace. We'll release about 30 at a time, waiting about a minute between each wave," Snyder said.

"If everyone started at once, some of the faster runners wouldn't be able to move," Ross said.

"I think there will be eight waves total," Snyder said.

The race starts west on Mahantongo, with an uphill stretch from Seventh Street to 19th Street.

"I think a lot of runners are going to be very surprised when they see it," Snyder said.

City police and volunteer fire police will man wooden horses, blocking the streets at the intersections.

"How long will the entire route be closed off to traffic?" Snyder asked.

"I figure about 30 minutes," Durkin said.

While the faster runners in the first wave are expected to make it through the course while the barriers are up, the slower runners may not.

"There will be some minor traffic. I will still have some people out doing traffic control but we will allow cross traffic. At that point, people need to get where they're going. And at that point, the runners aren't worried about missing a couple of seconds waiting for a car to pass. The people who are looking for time, they will have already passed through," Durkin said.

The race will continue north on 19th Street, west on West Norwegian Street, then south on 22nd.

"We should have a 'Heartbreak Hill,' like in the Boston Marathon," Ross said.

"That's it right there," Durkin said, referring to the 22nd Street incline.

"It would be fun to get a high school cheerleading squad to come out here to cheer them up the hill," Snyder said.

The runners will then turn east on Mahantongo, then south on 20th, another hill.

The runners will turn east on Howard Avenue, north on 10th Street, then east on Mahantongo and end up back where the race started.

There will be a post-race block party outside the brewery with vendors and live music until noon.

Police and fire police will have all streets open about noon, Durkin said.

The gift shop at the brewery is usually open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays but on race day, it may open a bit earlier, Debbie Altobelli, Yuengling's tour director, said Monday. Closing time will still be 3 p.m.

"We have to close at 3 p.m., to respect the church next door so there is parking for the afternoon service," Altobelli said, referring to St. Patrick.

For years, the event which has been known to draw the biggest crowds to the City of Pottsville is a classic car show. Held the first weekend of August, the Great Pottsville Cruise In & Car Show drew between 500 and 600 cruise cars and an estimated 6,000 people in 2012, Enders said.

Enders encourages all business owners downtown to be open the day of the race.

"On a tourism standpoint, I know all the motels are booked already. Could be a lot of money spent in Pottsville that weekend. If you have a business, you should be open. With this many people coming, you'd be foolish not to put some balloons out and turn the lights on," Enders said.

Enders said traditionally his museum, Jerry's Classic Cars & Collectibles Museum, 394 S. Centre St., opens the first Saturday of May. However, he said, because there will be so many people coming to visit the city, it will be open the day of the Lager Jogger.

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